A path forward on school discipline in the shadow of Betsy DeVos’s dismantling of protections

Read the entire op-ed on the Washington Post by Evan Stone, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Educators for Excellence; Cami Anderson, founder of the Discipline Revolution Project; and Layla Avila; CEO and executive director of Education Leaders of Color.

As education leaders, we take our commitment to students and families very seriously, not only to provide them with an excellent education that affords them access to the fullest range of life’s opportunities but also to ensure they are emotionally and physically safe and supported.

That’s why we are dismayed at the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle protections for our most vulnerable students by repealing much-needed federal guidance guarding students from discriminatory discipline practices. This damaging move was announced just before Christmas, even though thousands of teachers and more than 100 educators, advocates, district and state leaders, charter school operators, unions, and other education leaders called on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Justice Department to maintain the guidance protecting all students — particularly students of color, students with disabilities, and students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning. Educators are not alone in our concern: DeVos also received letters from a wide swath of groups on this issue, such as state attorneys general and the civil rights community.